Although the present invention will be described in terms of the preservation of wine, the invention can be extended to other food products such as coffee beans and ground coffee which similarly suffer ill effects when exposed to ambient (air) conditions.
Virtually anyone who routinely drinks wine notices that if a bottle of wine is uncorked and not completely consumed, the wine contained within the bottle changes in physical and chemical characteristics making the wine much less enjoyable to consume as time passes. This is caused by oxidation, that is, the bonding of oxygen molecules to oxidisable compounds present within the wine. Oxidation of wine results in the production of brown compounds and browning of red pigments with loss of color. It further results in the production of aldehydes and desirable grape (primary), fermentation (secondary) and aging (tertiary) derived flavors. The production of new undesirable flavor compounds can mask the desirable flavor compounds.
Such oxidisable compounds in wine include phenolics, alcohols and some flavor aldehyde compounds. Although all wines suffer from oxidation, because of the high concentration of phenolics extracted from grape skins during red wine production, red wine has a high reserve of oxidisable compounds and hence appears more sensitive to oxidative spoilage. Sulfur dioxide added to red wine loosely binds to red wine pigments decolorizing the pigment molecules and rendering a portion of the sulfur dioxide ineffective. Sulfur dioxide is also used to inhibit microbial growth and is thus a highly desirable additive for use in red wines.
It has thus been recognized that it is highly desirable to limit or entirely prevent oxygen, such as that contained in ambient air, from contacting the surface of a food product, such as wine, in order to maintain the product's desirable flavor and other physical characteristics.
There have been rather rudimentary attempts to inject an inert gas in the free space of an opened wine bottle in order to displace air contained therein. Such devices generally are in the form of a syringe-like product which enables the user to withdraw air from the bottle's free space or to inject a gas therein. However, such devices have proven to be ineffective in the flow of the inert gas to the free space above the wine and in removal of the ambient air to substantially reduce oxidation.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a device, in a simple small and compact housing through the use of a single external control switch to enable one to preserve food products, such as wine and coffee, from the ill effects of oxidation.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a device such as that described above which can not only minimize oxidation but also control the food product's temperature, a desirable expedient in preserving food for an extended duration and to maintain the food product at its proper serving temperature.
These and further objects can be more readily appreciated when considering the following disclosure and appended drawings.